This is yet another in the series of re-mastered issues of
Saturday matinee broadcasts from the Met. Its from what now
looks like the Met’s heyday. While it stands to reason that
not all of them are equally valuable, the standard has been
astonishingly high. It serves to remind us what a really top-class
cast looks like when drawn from a roster which has talent in
depth. Compare that with today’s unseemly scramble by the big
houses to nab the one or two singers in the world capable of
singing Verdi to the requisite standard. As they are all recorded
live in mono sound, their desirability might depend upon the
availability of competitive studio recordings in stereo. Certainly,
before you buy it, you should be sure that this issue has advantages
over the 1975 Decca set made with two of the same principals.
Decca sported a singer (Pavarotti) arguably much better suited
to the demands of the heroic tenor lead and, by and large, a
superior supporting cast. They are recorded in splendid stereo.
However, it must be admitted that both the performance and the
sound are so good on this Sony set that one almost forgets it
is mono.

I am certainly not trying to dissuade anyone from purchasing
this. For one thing, good as she is for Decca seven years later,
Caballé is decidedly more delicate here in this live performance.
She floats her trademark top Bs so seductively whereas in 1975
she goes for power more often. On the other hand, here, live
at the Met, some top notes are a little shrill. Milnes is less
nuanced than for Peter Maag. Also Maag’s more experienced direction
is decidedly more subtle by comparison with Schippers’ energised
approach. This was, after all, a transitional and experimental
opera for Verdi. It is much gentler and rather pastoral in character,
employing prominent woodwind and a cantilena more in the line
of Bellini; the music responds to a lighter hand. Luisa
Miller was the last of Verdi’s anni de galera
operas, ushering in a more mature style with stronger lyrical
elements and greater psychological penetration. The father-daughter
exchanges beginning Act III are especially touching, foreshadowing
Rigoletto, as is the insight and novelty of the a
cappella quartet which ends Act II. The latter is here
beautifully sung with no sagging of pitch and lovely ensemble
in the matching of the voices.

There is no doubt that we have some faintly inappropriate casting
with a young, virile-sounding Milnes as Luisa’s father, supposedly
“un vecchio debole” (weak old man). Richard Tucker, in the latter
years of his career, sounds heroic but decidedly mature for
the callow, headstrong lover who rebels against his father’s
wishes. This is another reason why the later Decca set is preferable
with a fresh-sounding Pavarotti and Milnes’ more seasoned characterisation
of Miller. While Tucker’s passion is impressive and clearly
appreciated by the audience, all those gulps and sobs can become
irritating on repeated listening. Still, he is in good voice
and his fans will know what to expect. Flagello is malice incarnate
as Wurm, Tozzi resonant as the Count, Louise Pearl adequate
as Federica.

There is some great singing here, not least in the superb finale.
This is an opera which has never been very popular in comparison
with its immediate successors. Sony’s version makes a very good
case for the work’s dramatic impact – as long as you can manage
without a libretto.Ralph Moore

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